Ex-EastEnders star Wendy Richard is due to marry her partner later before starting treatment for terminal cancer, reports BBC.

Guests have started to arrive for the ceremony at a hotel in London's Mayfair, including Todd Carty, who played Richard's son in the soap.

Other former co-stars including Barbara Windsor and Natalie Cassidy, who played her daughter-in-law Sonia, are also expected to attend.

Richard recently revealed that she had an aggressive form of cancer.

Pain-free day

The actress's dog Lily - which is related to the Cairn terrier who was her on-screen dog Betty in EastEnders - will be a special guest at the ceremony.

Richard said the move to bring forward the wedding meant there was little time to order a cake, flowers and outfits for their big day.She said: "We were going to get married anyway but when we got the diagnosis we decided to push ahead and get married now. There was no rush before."

The star, who was in EastEnders for more than 21 years, said recently that she wanted to enjoy a pain-free day and have a laugh.

The couple's honeymoon in the US has been postponed until Richard completes her course of chemotherapy, which is due to start on Monday.

Richard and her partner, John Burns, who is 20 years younger than her, have been together for 13 years.

The actress, who also appeared in sitcom Are You Being Served?, has been divorced on three previous occasions.

Richard has fought off breast cancer twice, but in January was told the disease had spread to her right kidney and bones.